Significant blow to President Erdogan in Turkey election, results show

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Voters in Turkey dealt a staggering setback to their president and his bid to gain a range of new powers in an election on Sunday, which marks a significant turning point for the country.

Although President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was not on the ballot, his Justice and Development Party (AKP) made clear that if it gained enough of a majority in parliamentary elections, it would help push through his controversial vision for a beefed-up presidential system.

HDP leader Selahattin Demirtas said the party would not let down those who had “lent” them their votes in protest of the AKP. He added that the results ended the debate over a presidential system in Turkey, and he ruled out forming a coalition with the AKP.

Meanwhile, the AKP appeared to be facing a stark new reality. After more than 12 years in power — most with Erdogan at its helm — the AKP no longer has the support it needs to form a single-party government. Erdogan will also not have the support he needs to boost the power of the presidency.

A hoarse and tired-sounding Ahmet Davutoglu, prime minister and leader of the AKP, called the election a celebration of democracy, but defiantly added that those who have the nation behind them do not “bow down.” The AKP, he said, was the victor of the night.

Pollsters had predicted the result could go either way and tensions were high on Election Day, with more than 400,000 security personnel dispatched across Turkey, according to local reports.

The vote followed an intense and bitter election season, which saw multiple attacks against the HDP. The most recent came Friday when two bombs went off at an HDP rally in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, killing three and injuring more than 150.

A woman casts her vote on election day in Istanbul on June 7, 2015.

Image: Mashable, Julius Motal

Fearful of vote-rigging, a record number of volunteers signed up to monitor the elections, which saw an 86% voter turnout.

Rana Hoffman, a lawyer from Istanbul who was monitoring votes at a polling station in the district of Beyoglu, said it was the first time she had volunteered.

“This election is much more crucial than any other, and there’s a big question mark about the results,” she said. “This is just the least we can do.”

Days before the election, campaign offices were buzzing, as volunteers mobilized their own teams of observers, and tested applications they would rely on to guard against fraud.

An election worker reads a vote for the HDP at a polling station in Istanbul on June 7, 2015.

Image: Mashable, Julius Motal

At an HDP office in the Istanbul district of Besiktas, fears seemed heightened that the party — which was polling just on the cusp of entering parliament — might be the target of election-rigging. “If our party does not pass the threshold [to enter parliament], that means the election will not have been legitimate,” one worker said.

To guard against accusations of voter fraud, monitors were out in force Sunday. Throughout the day, unconfirmed reports circulated on Twitter alleging that some attempted fraudsters were caught.

There were also several unconfirmed reports of fights and scuffles at polling stations, mostly in the Kurdish-majority southeast of the country.

In Istanbul, polling stations were busy, with voters expressing a sense that their participation was more critical for this election than in previous years.

Cagdas, an insurance salesman from Istanbul, said he was part of an intervention with a friend who said he might sit this election out.

“The 10% threshold is critical,” he said, referring to the 10% of votes needed for the HDP to enter parliament. “If they only get 9.6%, they would lose.”

With 99% of the vote counted, the HDP had comfortably surpassed that threshold with 12.65%.

Formerly a CHP voter, Cagdas said he decided to vote HDP this time because he found the party “new and promising,” but more importantly, it made mathematical sense to him: “I realized that if the HDP does not enter parliament, it will be four more years of AKP.”

Meanwhile, Fersat Yildirim, an AKP district director in Istanbul, argued that a presidential system and strong single-party government was necessary for the development of Turkey.

For Yildirim, the prospect of shared power brought back bad memories because the last time the country was ruled by a coalition, it was mired in economic problems. “Turkey suffered enough with coalition governments. Some Turkish people tend to forget quickly,” he said.

The AKP was still the victor with nearly 41% of the vote after 99% of ballots were counted. The Republican People’s Party (CHP) notched 25.19% of vote, while the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) finished third with 16.48%.

Once results are confirmed by Turkey's election board, Erdogan is expected to ask the AKP to form a coalition. If parliament rejects the new government, Erdogan can call for new elections.

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